Wednesdays Are for Writers: 10 Ways to Get 100 Votes

Happy Wednesday, everyone! We’ve been thrilled with the level of engagement our Book Idea and Anthology Programs have gotten lately. We have dozens of new Book Ideas from #PitMad, a prominent quarterly book pitching event on Twitter, and we’re also adding new Short Story Ideas every day. We’ve prepared a quick list of proven strategies for gathering votes and progressing through our model quickly. These tips can easily be used by our Short Story Idea authors to get their 100 votes and can be used consistently by our Book Idea authors to arrive at their goals as well. Do you have tips and tricks of your own that aren’t mentioned here? Please let us know if the comments section! We might even reach out to you about doing a guest blog for us.

One – Use the ripple effect on social media

Tag ten people in a social media post with your voting link, and ask each of them to tag an additional ten people in the first comment on your post. You can do this on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, just be sure to use an image for optimal results. Do this weekly, and you might find yourself with hundreds of votes.

Two – Put your Rolodex to work

Send your email contacts a tailored request, based on how you know him / her / them. For instance, your co-workers would receive a different email than your aunts and uncles. Keep emails short and direct, let them know how important it is to you that they vote for your short story.

Three – Get your voting link in front of all your new social media followers

Putting your Short Story Idea voting page link in your bio vastly increases the chance that your new social media followers will see it and interact with it. This simple step is essential to make Instagram based activities effective. You can do this on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Only 10 percent of your social media followers see any one of your posts. So it’s essential to post on social media multiple times to help ensure your followers see your content.

Four – Get votes instantly in person

If your family members, friends, and fans are more likely to respond to a request for votes made in person, our Voting Cards are the perfect solution. They feature an evocative image that captures interest and a QR code to instantly take your family members and friends to your Short Story Idea voting page.

If your family members, friends, and fans aren’t tech savvy, create an email list signup sheet for them to fill out. You’ll need each person’s first name, last name, email address, and explicit permission to use their information to enter a vote for your Short Story Idea. Clearly communicate that voting opts them in to hearing more about your Short Story Idea via email.

Five – Trade votes for free content

People love to feel appreciated. Give them something for free, such as an excerpt from a book you’ve written or one you’re working on, as soon as they provide proof that they voted for you.

Six – #AuthorsSupportingAuthors

Most authors love to support each other. Ask your fellow authors if they would be willing to share information about your Short Story Idea with their fans. If someone is willing to help you out, be sure to do something kind for them to show your appreciation.

Seven – Make voting a component of an author event

If you have already published a book and do author events, use a laptop showing your voting page or a signup list to collect their votes.

Eight – Automatically ask for votes with every email that you send

Add a quick message asking for votes to your personal email account’s email signature. Something like: “I’m working on getting my short story, Portable Power, published with Something or Other Publishing, but I need your vote to make that happen. Mind taking ten seconds to vote? bit.ly/PortablePowerShortStory”

Nine – Use your blog to get your biggest fans to vote

With today’s limited attention spans, people who take the time to read a person’s blog post are their biggest fans. Include a request for votes at the end of your blog posts.

Ten –Tie your Short Story Idea to a greater purpose

People will be more willing to help you if your story has a purpose beyond just entertainment. This tip is not just for non-fiction authors! Simply accurately portraying a character can mean the world to someone. Asia Kate Dillon’s portrayal of Taylor Mason in Showtime’s Billions was incredibly validating to people who identify as gender non-binary, for instance. An accurate portrayal of life in a country that’s not quite as familiar to Americans could be very meaningful as could accurately portraying a medical or mental health condition of which society tends to make light. Nearly any story can advance a greater purpose.